Love cocktails? Love cake? Why not make cocktail cakes? I created this recipe for Pina Colada cakes, and now that I’ve got the base idea I’m thinking of trying it out with other cocktails. These cakes aren’t difficult, however they are quite time-consuming as there are several stages – they are special occasion cakes though, so it’s worth the effort. You will see that Malibu is used at every stage, so these are definitely not for the kids!

WHAT YOU NEED:

For the caramelised pineapple pieces (Make this first as the pieces go into the cake mixture)

– 1 432g can pineapple rings (260g drained weight)
– 2 tablespoons butter
– 3 tablespoons brown sugar
– 3 tablespoons Malibu

For the cake mixture

– 170g butter (at room temperature)
– 170g self-raising flour
– 170g golden caster sugar
– 2 large eggs
– 4 tablespoons Malibu
– 1 teaspoon pineapple essence

For the drizzle

– 6 tablespoons Malibu
– 80g icing sugar

For the frosting

– 230g butter (at room temperature)
– 500g icing sugar, sifted
– 1 teaspoon coconut essence
– 2 tablespoons Malibu
– 2 tablespoons cornstarch
– 30g desiccated coconut

To decorate

Whatever you like! I used some little crispy gold nugget sprinkles and cocktail umbrellas.

WHAT YOU DO

For the caramelised pineapple pieces

1. Put the butter, sugar and Malibu into a skillet and heat until the butter has melted.  Swirl or mix it around. Drain the canned pineapple and cut the rings into three or four pieces so that they will more easily fit in the skillet.

2. Place the pineapple into the skillet and cook on medium heat until they are golden brown and caramelised. At first it will seem like nothing is happening for quite a while, but once the liquid has evaporated off they will start to take colour, keep an eye and turn the pieces over regularly, they can quickly become too dark. (You could just stop here and serve the hot caramelised pineapple with vanilla ice cream instead – I was tempted!).

3. Remove the pineapple pieces from the skillet, allow to cool a little and then chop them up into roughly raisin sized pieces.

For the cake mixture

4. Preheat oven to 160C/320F. Line a 12 hole muffin pan with muffin cases.

5. Whisk the sugar and butter together with an electric whisk for up to 5 minutes until pale and fluffy.

6. Add the eggs one at a time beating well in between.

7. Add the flour a couple of tablespoons at a time mixing each time.

8. Mix in the Malibu, pineapple essence, and caramelised pineapple pieces until combined, but don’t over-beat.

9. Divide the mixture into the muffin cases and bake for at least 25 minutes until golden and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean (mine took 26 minutes). Leave them in the tin while you make the drizzle.

For the drizzle

10. Mix the Malibu and icing sugar together and warm in the microwave for one minute.

11. Using a skewer make lots of holes in the cakes. Using a teaspoon drizzle the Malibu and icing sugar mixture over the cakes, encouraging it into the holes. Leave for 10 minutes and then lift the cakes out of the tin onto a rack and leave to cool.

For the frosting

12. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter with the coconut essence until light and fluffy.

13. Add the icing sugar a little at a time and beat on medium speed in between each addition.

14. Combine the cornstarch with the Malibu, mix well, add it to the frosting  along with the desiccated coconut and beat until well combined and light and fluffy.

15. Roughly spread the icing generously on the top of each cup cake, creating peaks.

16. Decorate as desired.

Do you like cocktails? Ever had cocktail inspired cakes?